1961-1963: The Start of the Race to the Moon

How Did Rockets Develop?

With the end of World War II, both the Allies and the Soviet Union accquired rocket technology from the German V-2 program. Political and military tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union (the Cold War) triggered the Space Race - the struggle to prove scientific superiority and military strength in space.

The Space Race began with the launch of Soviet Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, in 1957. This success was followed by Sputnik 2, which successfully carried the first animal into space. Reaching the Moon was the next milestone in the space race, also achieved by the Soviets (1959) through a series of highly successful robotic missions called Luna (Lunik, or Moon, in Russian).

SputnikLuna 4

Ingenuity and Determination Propelled the Soviets Ahead in the Early Phase of the Space Race

Gemini 7-Astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell spend two weeks in Earth orbit, which is the longest spaceflight until 1971, and perform the first successful orbital rendezvous between crewed spacecraft with Gemini 6

Following Sputnik, the U.S. launched its first successful satellite, Explorer 1, in January 1958. Instruments on Explorer 1 first detected the intense radiation bands that surround the Earth, now called the Van Allen radiation belts.

The pioneering engineers and scientists behind Explorer I celebrate the launch

Landmark U.S. Robotic Missions

By 1958, NASA, the newly created National Aeronautics and Space Administration, led U.S. efforts to explore space and prepare for future human missions to the Moon. Three important robotic programs were conducted from 1959-1969 to prepare for the first human landing:

Ranger, to collect the first close-up images of the surface of the Moon; practica

Lunar Orbiter, to map the lunar surface before the Apollo landings; and,

Surveyor, to perform soft landings on the Moon.

Ranger Missions (1961-1965)

Ranger missions (1-9) were the first U.S. attempt to obtain close-up images of the Moon. Images were taken and transmitted to Earth up to the final moments before impact.

Lunar Orbiter Missions (1966-1967)

Surveyor Missions (1966-1968)

The Surveyor probes (1,3,5-7) were the first U.S. spacecraft to land safely on the Moon. Their objectives were to obtain close-up images of the surface and to determine if the terrain was safe for manned landings.